Golf Spotlight: The Last 5 Winners at Bay Hill

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, won his first PGA Tour event in nearly one year on March 11, 2024 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. He last won at the Players Championship in 2023 and had four top-10 finishes in his first five starts of the 2024 season. Scheffler shot a bogey-free 66 in the final round on Sunday to finish 15-under, five strokes ahead of second-place finisher Wyndham Clark. It was his seventh career victory and second in three years at Bay Hill. 

Scheffler is routinely among the leaders in Strokes Gained from tee to green, but has had issues putting during the past year. He came into the weekend 144th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the 2024 season and was 164th in 2023. Scheffler switched from a blade to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet putter before the Arnold Palmer Invitational and led all players in Strokes Gained: Putting. 

"I know that I can putt really well. It isn't like I have been a bad putter my whole career," Scheffler said after winning the tournament. "I just had a spell that was tough. Golf looks pretty easy on TV. When you are out here competing on the PGA Tour, it is difficult. There had been a lot of chatter about my game and where it was at. So it was nice to come here and perform so well under pressure." 

Scheffler's five-stroke margin of victory was the largest since Tiger Woods won by the same amount in 2012. The previous four winners at Bay Hill, including Scheffler in 2022, all won by one stroke. 

Kurt Kitayama (2023) 

A veteran who had played on the Korn Ferry Tour, European Tour, and Asian Tour, Kurt Kitayama broke through on the PGA Tour with his victory at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Kitayama finished 9-under, one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy and Harris English. He led to begin the fourth round, but let a group of quality players, including McIlroy, Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth, back into contention after hitting an out-of-bounds tee shot on the ninth hole and registering a triple bogey. He was one of five players tied for the lead with just three holes remaining and took the lead after scoring a birdie on the par-3 17th. Kitayama secured the championship—and $3.6 million in prize money—with a tap-in for par on the 18th. 

The win was especially satisfying for Kitayama considering how close he had come to winning on the PGA Tour during the prior 52 weeks. He finished runner-up, one shot behind the champion, at events in Scotland, Mexico, and South Carolina.  

Scottie Scheffler (2022) 

Scheffler, who won PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2020, won for the second time in his last three starts at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He finished 5-under, which was tied for the second-lowest score to par for a champion at Bay Hill since 1983. Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, and Billy Horschel finished one shot back at 4-under. 

Scheffler shot a 4-under 68 in the third round, but struggled early on Sunday, recording bogeys on two of his first three holes. However, he was one of the few players who looked as though he was somewhat comfortable in the high-wind playing conditions. The 77 players in the tournament were a collective 266-over par in the final round and had the highest scoring average (75.5) in any round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational since 1981.  

Bryson DeChambeau (2021) 

Bryson DeChambeau, now a member of LIV Golf, won the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational following an impressive fourth-round performance similar to Scheffler's in 2022. DeChambeau tied for the low score of the round at one-over 71 and played the final 17 holes without a bogey. Player scoring average in the fourth round was 75.49. DeChambeau finished the tournament at 11-under, one better than runner-up Lee Westwood, and earned $1.67 million in prize money.  

DeChambeau and Westwood were neck-and-neck for much of the fourth round and were within one shot of each other through the last 15 holes. They were tied until the 14th hole, when Westwood made a three-putt bogey to fall one shot behind DeChambeau, who won for the eighth time on the PGA Tour. 

Tyrrell Hatton (2020) 

Hatton, who is also now with LIV Golf, won for the first time on the PGA Tour at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, shooting 4-under par to beat Marc Leishman by one stroke. The England native had the lowest score to par for a champion since 1983 and was the fifth consecutive international winner, joining Francesco Molinari (2019), McIlroy (2018), Leishman (2017), and Jason Day (2016). He shot 68-69-73-74 and was the first PGA Tour winner with multiple over-par weekend rounds since Geoff Ogilvy won the 2006 U.S. Open, one of the four major golf tournaments.